Young Girl
by karaokegal
Summary: Summary: The Doctor shares some of his past with Jack. Written for the Merry Month of Masturbation from a prompt that had a picture of Jack and Ace. Beta-ed by Mad Jaks. 785 words.


"Nothing was safe around that girl. Sometimes I thought she might blow up the TARDIS itself, but she was fearless, I tell you. Strong and brave and smart and…fierce."

The Doctor hadn't meant to go on quite so long, but it had been a long time since he'd thought about his old companions, and he was surprised to find how comforting the memories were now. Maybe it was the passage of time, or the regenerations he'd experienced since then. Possibly it was the refreshing experience of sharing his stories with the only man in the galaxy who understood what it was to live so many lives and leave so many behind.

"Did you just say, _fierce_?"

"And what of it if I did? You'd have liked her, Jack."

"Any chance we could pay a visit?"

Jack's smile was a little too bright and the look in his eye reminded the Doctor that for Jack "liking" someone meant more than the admiration and affection. It meant dancing. Jack would definitely want to get Ace out on the floor, and the Doctor was surprised to discover how protective he still felt toward her. Not that Ace couldn't handle herself, but Jack was…Jack.

"No visits," he said firmly, hoping the TARDIS was getting the message along with Jack. "She's just a girl."

"Can I at least see a picture?"

"Oh, all right," he agreed, reluctantly.

The Doctor hoped it would be one that showed exactly how young Ace had been when he first met her, as if that would deter Jack. Unfortunately, the TARDIS seemed determined not to cooperate. The image that appeared on the monitor was hardly one of innocence.

"That's some girl you got there. And you never…?"

For a second, the Doctor thought he could actually see the Big Bad Harkness licking his chops at the sight of an older Ace, dressed in a skin-tight, electric blue jump-suit that showed far more cleavage than the Doctor approved of. The yellow plastic utility belts around her waist and over her shoulder only seemed to emphasize her toughness, as well as accentuating the fact that this was no child.

Jack soon excused himself for the night claiming fatigue, but the Doctor had little doubt what would be going on in Jack's bed. He tried not to dwell too much on the particulars, although given Jack's long sexual history and his origins, the Doctor had no doubt he was as much of an expert when it came to self-pleasure as any other kind.

The Doctor couldn't blame Jack for being who he was; in fact he'd made that his own personal condition for asking Jack to travel with him after Amy left to settle down with Rory. He knew exactly how much he owed Jack and was determined to get it right this time since they had so much in common.

Jack would always be Jack; a being for whom everything existed through the prism of sexuality. The Doctor understood it intellectually, but the urge itself, at least on the grand scale that Jack experienced it, was alien to him, if he could allow himself a bit of Time Lord humour. After over 900 years, he could still count on the fingers of one hand the number of times he'd felt that kind of passion. On two of them, it had nearly destroyed him.

He really did love Jack, as he had loved all his companions, and occasionally wished he had the capability to give Jack what he wanted, although it hardly seemed necessary when Jack could essentially have anyone or anything in the galaxy for the price of a smile. Right now, he was no doubt doing just fine on his own, with a mental picture of Ace and whatever exotic accoutrements he'd picked up in his travels and brought about the TARDIS with him.

So why had his path to his own room detoured down the corridor that led to Jack's? He found himself standing outside the door, imagining what was going on inside, right down to the grunts and groans he couldn't really hear. Maybe even Jack calling her "Dorothy." He touched the door, thinking he might open it, or knock, or do something to interrupt…

_Sling your hook, Professor. Leave him be, unless you're planning on going in there to join him._

That was his Ace.

_Absolutely right, my dear._, he thought, with a last look at the door, before walking away to leave Jack to it.

Perhaps someday he'd be prepared to walk in and offer his own hand. After all, they both had nothing but time and they had plenty of stories to share.

He couldn't wait to tell Jack about Leela.


End file.
